Florida’s sports betting bills are set for committee hearings in the new year following referral by the Senate on Friday.

The Senate considered three bills to legalise and regulate sports betting that were introduced by Republican senator Jeff Brandes in November.

SB968 (regulation), SB970 (license fee) and SB972 (tax) were filed on November 18th and would take effect on October 1st, 2020, allowing the Florida Lottery to offer bets on professional and collegiate sport and athletic events to players over the age of 21 who are physically present in the state.

The lottery would have exclusivity over retail betting, while private operators would be offered $100,000 annual licenses to conduct online sports betting, with both subject to a 15 per cent tax on net revenue.

The bills were referred Friday to the Senate Appropriations; Rules; and Innovation, Industry, and Technology committees, of which senator Brandes is a member of all three.

Gaming Intelligence